Dalit ‘lynched’ over land feud in M.P.

A Dalit watchman was on Monday allegedly lynched by 13 people over a land dispute in a village in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district, the police said.

Prima facie, a land dispute between the victim, Ramsewak Parihar, and the accused belonging to the Yadav community was the reason behind the crime, said a police officer, adding that all the accused are absconding.

“A Kotwar (watchman) was beaten to death by 13 people belonging to the Yadav community on Monday when he was going to his home in Khisloni village,” said Ramraja Tiwari, the incharge of the Bamorkala police station, under whose jurisdiction the incident occurred.

The Kotwars are watchmen-cum-informers appointed by the State government in villages.

Body found in farm

Mr. Tiwari said the accused allegedly caught hold of Parihar and attacked him with sticks and sharp-edged weapons. They dumped his body near a farm in the village.

“When family members of Parihar came to know about the incident, they rushed to the spot and took him to the district hospital in Shivpuri where the doctors declared him brought dead,” the police officer said.

Parihar and the accused were locked in a dispute over a piece of land and the case was pending before a court, Mr. Tiwari said.

The watchman’s son Satendra Parihar claimed that his father had filed a complaint with the police and the district administration fearing threat to his life, but no action was taken.

The police have registered an FIR against the 13 accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Mr. Tiwari said.